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The feasibility of controlling relative humidity in modified atmosphere packages using compounds possessing Type III sorption isotherm behavior was studied. Ten grams each of dry sorbitol, xylitol, NaCl, KCl, or CaCl2 sealed with one maturegreen tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) fruit at 20C in simulated packages for 48 days resulted in stable relative humidities of ≈75%, 80%, 75%, 85%, and 35%, respectively. Relative humidity was a function of the ratio of chemical to fruit mass. Relative humidities within control packages were in the range of 96% to 100% throughout the experiments. A simple system that uses spunbonded polyethylene pouches for the application of this humidity control method to packages is described. The storage life of packaged red-ripe tomato fruit at 20C was extended from 5 days using no pouch to 15 to 17 days with a pouch containing NaCl, mainly by retardation of surface mold development.
A method was developed to measure transpiration rates and apparent water-vapor permeability coefficients (P'H2O) of detached fruit using an analytical balance equipped with a humidity chamber, wide-range humidity-generating and sensing devices, and a datalogger. The system was designed to monitor weight changes with time and, hence, weight loss of individual fruit during exposure to specific relative humidities (RHs) and temperatures. Weight loss was corrected for loss due to respiratory exchange of 02 and CO2 before calculating P'H2O. Values of P'H2O for tomatoes obtained using this method over periods of 5 minutes to 24 hours ranged from 3 to 12 nmol·cm-2·s-1·kPa-1 at 20C, depending on the experimental conditions. These values are similar to previously published values and to those obtained in a conventional weight-loss experiment, which involved intermittent weighing. P'H20 for tomatoes dropped ≈15% in 24 hours. P'H20 increased with a transient increase in RH; the extent of the increase was variable from fruit to fruit, ranging from 5% to 100% over 30% to 90% RH. The change was reversible in that P'H2O increased and decreased within minutes following shifts in RH. Similar changes were found for strawberry P'H20. The increase in P'H2O may be due, in part, to a direct effect of water vapor on the water transport properties of the cuticular polymer and surface temperature depression as a result of evaporative cooling. At 50% RH and 20C, water vapor diffuses from tomatoes 50 times faster than O2 enters on a molar basis. This information will be useful for modeling RH changes in modified-atmosphere packages.
`Heritage' raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) were sealed in low-density polyethylene packages and stored at 0, 10, and 20C during Fall 1990 and 1991 to study respiratory responses under modified atmospheres. A range of steady-state O2 and CO2 partial pressures were achieved by varying fruit weight in packages of a specific surface area and film thickness. Film permeability to O2 and CO2 was measured and combined with surface area and film thickness to estimate total package permeability. Rates of O2 uptake and CO2 production and respiratory quotient (RQ) were calculated using steady-state O2 and CO2 partial pressures, total package permeability, and fruit weight. The O2 uptake rate decreased with decreasing O2 partial pressure over the range of partial pressure studied. The Michaelis-Menten equation was used to model O2 uptake as a function of O2 partial pressure and temperature. The apparent Km(K½) remained constant (5.6 kPa O2 with temperature, while Q10 was estimated to be 1.9. RQ was modeled as a function of O2 partial pressure and temperature. Headspace ethanol increased at RQs >1.3 to 1.5. Based on RQ, ethanol production, and flavor, we recommend that raspberries be stored at O2 levels above 4 kPa at 0C, 6 kPa at 10C, and 8 kPa at 20C. Steady-state CO2 partial pressures of 3 to 17 kPa had little or no effect on O2 uptake or headspace ethanol partial pressures at 20C.
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. `Bluecrop') fruit sealed in low-density polyethylene packages were incubated at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25C until O2 and CO2 levels in the package reached a steady state. A range of steady-state O2 partial pressures (1 to 18 kPa) was created by placing a range of fruit weights within packages having a constant surface area and film thickness. The steady-state O2 partial pressure in packages containing the same weight of fruit decreased as temperature increased, indicating the respiratory rate rose more rapidly (i.e., had a greater sensitivity to temperature) than O2 transmission through the film. Steady-state O2 and CO2 partial pressures were used to calculate rates of O2 uptake. CO2 Production. and the respiratory quotient (RO). The effects of temperature and 02 partial pressure on O2 uptake and CO2 production and the RQ were characte∼zed. The steady-state O, partial pressure at which the fruit began to exhibit anaerobic CO2 production (the RQ breakpoint) increased with increasing temperature, which implies that blueberry fruit can be stored at lower O2 partial pressures when stored at lower temperatures.